


A Djinn by Any Other Name

by Mistwolf_Magic



Series: Well Now You Do [2]
Category: Descendants (2015), The Isle of the Lost - Melissa de la Cruz
Genre: F/M, Gen, Jafar was a sorcerer, because for some reason I'm really good at writing stuff like that, so why isn't Jay?, some Jay Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-28
Updated: 2015-08-28
Packaged: 2018-04-17 07:32:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4657953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mistwolf_Magic/pseuds/Mistwolf_Magic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>By the end of his tale, Jafar was a powerful sorcerer at least, and an all-powerful Genie at most. So where did all that power go and why doesn't Jay have any of it? </p>
<p>Or: The one in which Jay is actually a Sorcerer and his powers manifest in such a way that has the entire Family scrambling to find their footing again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Djinn by Any Other Name

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [There Is Nothing Wrong With Being Yourself](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4614303) by [minishadowsoul](https://archiveofourown.org/users/minishadowsoul/pseuds/minishadowsoul). 



> Eeep!! I just read Isle of the Lost and it was amazing! It really put the Isle Four into perspective and you got so much more out of Ben than the movie goes into!! If you haven't read it yet, go do it ASAP!!

Jafar was many things, evil, ruthless, a traitor, a businessman, but for some reason people didn't seem to expect him to be just so devious. As the former Grand Vizier sat on the Isle of the Lost, he pondered on where Maleficent's plan had gone wrong, and on something he had never told anyone. He smirked evilly; he was honestly surprised that it hadn't happened yet, but it was only a matter of time. Jayden couldn't keep it subconsciously buried forever, Jafar only wished he could be there to see it.

* * *

Completely unaware of his father's musings, Jay was on the Tourney field playing a friendly game with Ben and Carlos. They were working on a new combo assist, one where Carlos actually makes the shot instead of just setting it up for the other players. Carlos was grinning broadly, excited that two of his best friends trusted him enough in this to give him such a big part in the planned play. Jay was running back towards the kill zone after a runthrough when his vision shifted oddly, he slowed down minutely but then shook it off, only for everything to double suddenly and return to normal. "Wha-?" This time he slowed to a walk and shook his head as though that would help clear it. A buzzing noise filled his ears and he brought a hand to his helmet.

"Jay! Are you okay, bro?" Ben frowned as he watched the other boy's actions.

Jay heard his friend calling him as though from far away and the buzzing in his ears was replaced by a shrill ringing while the world spun around him. He fell to his knees and pulled off his helmet, wincing as the light hit his eyes, while trying valiantly to control his nausea. A hand grabbed his shoulder as Ben made it to his side and Jay reached to grip it with one of his own, desperately seeking for some sort of anchor.

Carlos put his own hand on Jay's knee, concerned at how pale his brother had gotten. "Jay?" said boy cried out suddenly and doubled forward, vomiting the contents of his stomach onto the field. The white-haired teen looked at the other boy, eyes wide and panicked.

"That's it." Ben growled and with a swift movement pulled Jay into his arms as he stood up. "Carlos contact the girls and tell them to meet us in you room." the King felt it said something about how much he was beginning to understand his friends that his first instinct was to get them all into the boys' room. He would send for the nurse later if it was necessary.

* * *

 

Jay was vaguely aware that he was being carried, but that knowledge had faded into the background due to the blinding pain pulsing just behind his eyes. Another wave of nausea hit and he retched; they stopped moving while his body spent a few minutes trying to expel what wasn't there. A surge of heat coursed through his body, almost immediately followed by the feeling of ice sliding down his spine.

* * *

 

Ben practically ran through the halls, Carlos at his heels, both trying to ignore the pitiful whimpers and moans coming from their friend. Ben was positive that Jay wasn't coherent enough to realize that he had buried his face in the King's shoulder even though it did nothing to muffle the sounds of his distress. They reached the boys' dorm in record time  (how had they not run into anyone on the way here?) and Ben laid his burden on the closest bed. Carlos immediately grabbed every blanket in sight and piled them onto the now shaking boy.

The girls arrived shortly afterwards and Evie rushed over to the bed while Mal stood frozen in the doorway. "Hey..." Ben went to her and she threw her arms around him, burying her face in his chest.

Carlos explained what had happened to the girls and Evie had to take a steadying breath.

"What are w-?" Ben was cut off by a cry as Jay knocked the pile of blankets off of him when he started thrashing.

* * *

 

Jay didn't think he had ever been in more pain that he was right now - nor, a small part of him would admit, had he ever been so frightened - his body continued to cycle viciously through being unbearably hot and just as unbearably cold; the rapid changes were causing his muscles to spasm. The pain behind his eyes had spread to his entire head and shot pain down his neck and spine. What felt like an iron band was ruthlessly tightening around his chest, denying him the oxygen he desperately needed. He finally broke and screamed as his eyes were seemingly replaced by burning coals; he could smell the smoke, taste the ash, and hear the flames. He just wanted the pain to end, whatever it took.

* * *

"K-ki-kill m-m-me..." Everyone's gaze's snapped to Jay as the broken plea slipped from the unconscious boy's chapped lips.

"Please tell me he didn't just ask what I think he just asked." Carlos spoke first, pain written on his face.

"J-j-jus-s-st m-mak-ke it-t-t st-t-to-op-p..." Jay begged again and Evie let a small sob leave her.

"I'll go get the nurse, we can't handle this on our own." Ben decided heading for the door.

"Wait!" Mal cried, leaning over Jay and rubbing her knuckles across his sternum. Eyes flickered open for less than a second but it was enough. Mal cursed.

"Of course..." she whispered, "I suppose it was really only a matter of time."

"Do you know what's wrong?" Carlos asked, coming up to her cautiously.

"Jafar is a Sorcerer." Those four simple words made Evie and Carlos straighten suddenly, understanding dawning on their own faces.

"I don-" Ben started but was hushed by Evie.

Mal pulled out her spellbook and flipped frantically through the pages before stopping she turned to her three companions and spoke. "Make a shield and make it fast, give them protection designed to last." A green dome surrounded them, blocking them in. They watched as she faced Jay again; the purple-haired girl climbed onto the bed until she was straddling his chest, pinning him down. "Jay, open your eyes." a whimper was her only response. "Jay, stop fighting it, it'll only make it worse. Let it go..." With a patience and gentleness Ben hadn't realized Mal possessed, she sat talking to Jay for nearly half an hour before he opened his eyes; his brown eyes were glowing crimson. Mal leaned over him until they were eye to eye and hers began glowing their toxic green.

* * *

Jay became vaguely aware of someone speaking to him, a low voice that kept repeating something over and over... "...stop fighting it, Jay... open your eyes..." What was he supposed to stop fighting? The pain? Who was even talking to him? "Open your eyes Jay. And look at me." Mal. That was Mal, using her Mistress of Evil voice. Somehow he found the will to do as she requested and was immediately met by the glowing eyes of their resident spellcaster. He suddenly understood how Mal always felt when she and her mother would have their staredowns.

"Though you are lost in this hour, it is you who control your power." Power? Is that what this was? "Though you are lost in this hour, it is you who control your power." Mal repeated as the pain in his head lessened. "Though you are lost in this hour, it is you who control your power." His throat closed off and he tried to jerk away from the rising tingling running through his body. "Though you are lost in this hour, it is you who control your power." With a recoil similar to a rubber band snapping, the pressure on Jay's body exploded outward and left him shaking.

* * *

A red shockwave burst from Jay, throwing Mal across the room and making the protective dome shudder; the windows exploded outward and cracks appeared in the wooden walls. “Mal are you okay?! Ben called, unable to run to her like he wanted to because of her protective barrier.

“I’m fine,” She assured, standing up and leaning against the wall for support. “He has more power than I thought.”

“Take down the shield.” Carlos called but Mal shook her head and returned to Jay’s side. Only after she touched his shoulder, seemingly checking for something, did the dome dissolve.

“Jay?” Mal called gently, her hand still on his shoulder, “Can you hear me?” There was no response from the ex-thief. “Evie, will you start some tea? Carlos go wet a few rags with cool water, and Ben, help me get him out of his jersey and padding.”

Jay looked like he could be asleep now; his face and top were drenched in sweat and his hair had come half out of its tail but he was calm at last.

By the time Carlos got back with a handful of wet cloths the couple had managed to get the unconscious jock out of his jersey and padding and propped him up slightly on a pile of pillows. Evie had come over once the tea was started and began making sense of the matted dark brown hair. Mal took a rag from Carlos  and started wiping sweat from Jay's face and Carlos soon started doing the same on his friend's chest. Ben had moved to cover the broken windows with a sheet to reduce a draft, they would worry about replacing the glass later.

Under his friend's gentle ministrations, Jay was slowly coming to and had turned into Evie's hand where she was carding it through his hair. He slowly opened his eyes to see his blue-haired sister smiling gently at him. "Mngh..." he groaned softly, "hey Blueberry..."

Evie laughed a bit. "That's Mal's nickname for me, silly. You're not allowed to call me that."

"Wait." Mal interrupted from where she was sitting next to Ben on Carlos' bed. "I was allowed to call you that? Dang it. I only called you that because I thought you didn't like it." The others laughed at her jokingly disappointed tone.

"How ya feeling, Bro?" Ben asked and Jay turned his head to look at him. "You had us worried."

Jay groaned again. "What even happened? I remember... Mal?..."

"You know, it never really occurred to any of us that your dad was a sorcerer." Mal commented and Jay's eyes widened. "In retrospect, it's really a surprise that this didn't happen when we first got outside of the Magic Barrier."

Jay fell back onto the pillows with a heavy sigh. "Why did it hurt so much?"

"I would guess that you've had a subconscious stranglehold on your powers your entire life," Carlos spoke up from his computer, "otherwise your eyes would probably have done their glowy thing like Mal's did. When they slipped the leash - so to speak - you were fighting for control of them again and that's why it was painful."

"But you're not in any pain now, right?" Evie checked.

"I'm sore all over, but other than that..." Jay sighed again. "What am I gonna do now?"

Mal's eyes glowed green. "You learn to control it."

"I'm sure Fairy Godmother would be willing to offer some reference books." Ben added. "Whether magic has been officially retired or not, it's not like you can just get rid of it."

Evie had slipped away while they were talking and returned with a mug of tea which she took a large sip of before offering to Jay; it was the particular blend that they found worked best for sore muscles, it also happened to be Jay's favorite. "Thanks."

After he had finished the tea, and a cinnamon roll Carlos got from somewhere, Evie pat his head slightly. "Why don't you get some sleep?" At the look in his eyes she smiled. "One of us will always be in here to keep watch."

He still didn't look convinced so Carlos looked around the room quickly. "Ben, come help me." Together (mostly Ben and his enhanced strength) the two boys moved the table to the wall and flanked it by the dressers. Mal caught on and quickly created a nest of blankets under the table, then, as Ben was helping Jay to the nest, Evie did the impossible and pulled out a simple leather-sheathed knife which she presented to Jay.

"How did you-?" Ben cut himself off. "Never mind, I don't think I want to know."

Jay examined the blade carefully. "Thank you Evie... I..."

The fashionista simply pressed a platonic kiss on his forehead and tucked a blanket around him. "I have to go meet Doug, I'll be back in a few hours. Get some rest Jay."   

"I need to go too." Ben stood, "I have a meeting with my father to get ready for."

Carlos sat down on the floor and leaned against one of the dressers; Dude came over and lay next to him.

"Carlos and I will stay." Mal said, handing Carlos his laptop before she sat down against the other dresser and pulling out her spellbook. "I'll see if I can fix some of this damage." She looked up at Ben, "If it's not fixed by the time you get back, we'll have to come up with something else." the King nodded and bent to kiss the top of Mal's head before leaving the room with Evie.

"I'm sorry."  Jay whispered, his hand tightening on his new knife.

Mal didn't even look up as she reached over and flicked him in the forehead. "Nothing to apologize for, and if you do it again I'll hit you for real. Now go to sleep before I spell you."

Carlos snorted and Jay gave him a dirty look but obediently closed his eyes. “Thanks you guys…” he whispered, “for having my back.”

“That’s what Family is for.” Carlos answered, but Jay was already asleep. The boy shared a glance with Mal, and they both smiled. Jay would be alright, it would just take some time.

* * *

Ben would never understand how they managed to keep Jay’s absence largely unnoticed. For three days. The dark haired boy was doing much better, but Evie had gotten him to admit that his muscles still seized up from time to time and he got dizzy if he was standing for any longer than five minutes. It also didn’t help that any time he got stressed out, his control would slip.

Mal had been working with him on controlling his power and, after a few mishaps that were not made into bigger problems by virtue of the dome Mal started putting up, he was now able to raise his power and make his eyes glow at will. The first time they had tried that, Jay went to his knees in agony and his recovery had been set back immensely.   

He supposed it was only a matter of time before someone came looking for the group, and so it wasn’t a surprise when a knock sounded on the boys’ door when all five of them were in the room. Carlos opened the door a bit and peeked out; he had to force himself to not immediately slam the door when he saw the Headmistress on the other side.

“Hello,” she spoke in her sugary sweet voice that irritated even Ben at times. “I just wanted to check on you boys. Chad said he hadn’t seen Jay for a few days.”

Carlos looked back into the room, eyes wide and panicked, the question on his face clear.”What do I do?”

Everyone exchanged glances, then Mal growled in defeat and slammed her sketchbook closed. “Let her in.” He did so, still looking like a deer in the headlights.

Fairy Godmother looked only slightly surprised at the room’s occupants; Mal stared at her as though daring her to comment, Ben was reading through some Kingdom related files and looked up with a small grin on his face, Jay gazed at the woman steadily from where he was sitting against the bed to let Evie play with his hair, Evie didn’t even look up from the braid she was doing. Fairy Godmother took in the sight for a moment, then focused on Jay; he was pale and looked tired as though he hadn’t slept recently (which was true, he’d been having nightmares, but she didn’t need to know that). “Jay, dear, are you feeling alright?”

“Super.” He responded with a grin that was obviously fake.

“You haven’t been in class for three days.”

“I’m impressed someone actually noticed,” Evie commented, “though I suppose three days is pushing it.”  

The Headmistress’ cheerful expression faded. “I want to know why you missed class, Jay.”

Jay shifted, pulling free of Evie’s fingers as his body tensed. “Jay,” the girl hissed, trying to reclaim his locks, “don’t; calm down.”

“Jay, you can’t just skip class whenever you want.” Fairy Godmother scolded. “You have to take responsibility for your actions, you-”

“I’ve just had a couple bad days, okay?” Jay snapped, cutting her off. “I’m not allowed to take a few days off?! What, I have to check in with you for every little-” Jay abruptly doubled over, squeezing his eyes shut and gasping for breath.

Mal immediately pushed the older woman aside and knelt next to the boy. “Jay.” Jay rose his head and crimson eyes met toxic green, Fairy Godmother watched in shock as the two stared each other down. Finally Jay’s eyes returned to normal and he he looked away.

“Thanks, Mal.” Jay slumped back against the bed and Evie undid all the braids in his hair to give him a head massage. The oldest* of the group groaned a little as his muscles protested the surge of magic.

“You may have retired your magic,” Mal’s voice was hard, “But it is still very much a part of us, and right now, Jay is dealing with his the best we can.”

Understanding dawned on the woman’s face and she looked faintly ashamed of herself. “Oh...oh, dear.” Ben rose his eyebrow at her hesitant tone. “I keep forgetting that you aren’t like everyone else in Auradon.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Carlos asked, “I mean, duh, we’re different, but why should that make such a big deal?”

“For all the magic in their stories,” Fairy Godmother explained, “very few of the people here actually have any. For example, magic shaped Ben’s past,” Ben nodded, not quite sure where she was going with this, “but neither of his parents have any. Very few people in Auradon have magic; and now, most of them live on the Isle of the Lost.”

Evie’s eyes lit up in comprehension. “So, while magic works in Auradon, very few people actually have the capability of using it. Whereas on the Isle there are a lot of them, but the barrier nullifies it.”

“Exactly. And most of them don’t even need a magical conductor, as evidenced by Mal and her spellbook.”

“So what does this have to do with me?” Jay asked quietly.

“Like Mal said, you can’t just ‘retire’ your magic, and I never took that into account. So from now on; Jay, you and Mal will have private lessons with me to make sure you can control your magic.”

The two named teens barely managed to muffle their groans, Remedial Goodness 101 had been bad enough. “You’ll have to include Evie too.” Mal informed her. “Her mom was an enchantress, and after what happened to Jay, I’m not taking any chances.”

The teenagers nodded in agreement with Mal’s statement and Fairy Godmother bowed her head in acknowledgement. “Alright then. Jay, how much longer do you think you’ll be absent?”

“I’ll probably be in classes tomorrow--”

“But no Tourney for another week, Jay,” Carlos reminded him, “there’s too much of a chance to trigger you.”  

The jock sighed and rolled his eyes. “Yes mother.” Carlos stuck his tongue out at him and the teens all started laughing.

“All right then…” The Headmistress slipped out of the room, only Ben bothering to offer her an offhand farewell.

****  
  


**Author's Note:**

> * I don't actually know if Jay is the oldest, but I kind of feel that he might me. So if that is wrong (and someone can prove it) please tell me!! 
> 
> Why do I enjoy writing/reading whump? Why am I so good at writing it!? Why do I keep asking all of you questions to which you wouldn't know the answers to?


End file.
